Thursday's Frosty Mug: Three more moving on

Some things to read while waiting for the next drop.

The official start of free agency is only a couple of weeks away, and the Brewers continued their preparation yesterday by outrighting three pitchers off the 40-man roster: Santo Manzanillo, Josh Ravin and Jesus Sanchez. Mass Haas of Brewerfan.net notes that all three players will now be eligible for minor league free agency.

• Manzanillo pitched his way onto the radar and the 40-man roster in 2011, making 48 relief appearances with a 1.75 ERA between Brevard County and Huntsville. He hasn't been the same since an offseason car accident that winter, though, walking over six batters per nine innings in AA or below over the last two seasons.
• The Brewers just claimed Ravin off waivers from the Reds about a month ago. He has a 5.30 ERA across eight minor league seasons with 8.1 strikeouts but also 6.1 walks per nine innings.
• Sanchez is probably the most surprising, and the most likely to find a better opportunity elsewhere. He's spent the last three seasons at AA or above in the Brewer organization and has a career 2.52 ERA in 68 AAA appearances, walking 2.5 batters per nine and striking out 6.8.

Khris Davis and Scooter Gennett were minor leaguers on the fringe a year ago, but both have played themselves into likely roles on the 2013 Brewers. Jonathan Judge of Disciples of Uecker has a look at what we learned about these young hitters this season, and what to expect from them going forward.

Davis, Gennett and the rest of the 2014 Brewers will play their home games in baseball's tenth best facility, according to Yelp: The Roosevelts compiled a list that shows Miller Park one spot behind Target Field but one spot ahead of Dodger Stadium. (h/t Metsblog)

While Scooter Gennett is likely to be 2014's youngest Brewer, Aramis Ramirez has a strong chance to be the oldest. Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew gave the Brewers third baseman a C for his injury-riddled 2013 performance.

Ramirez was a Gold Glove nominee in 2012, and Carlos Gomez is a near-lock to represent the Brewers as a nominee in 2013. The Brewer Nation asks if a Brewer will finally be honored this year for the first time since 1982.

Ryan Braun won't be winning any awards this year, but yesterday we profiled him as an honorable mention on our list of 2013's most valuable Brewers. Check back after 1 to see who we're profiling today.

Braun's long term contract used to be a nice addition to the Brewers' franchise value, but that may not be the case anymore. Nonetheless, Bloomberg estimates the franchise is currently worth around $615 million, which ranks 22nd among MLB teams.

I have just one free agency note today: Yesterday I linked to an Athletics Nation piece considering Scott Kazmir as a free agent target for Oakland, and today Bleed Cubbie Blue has a piece wondering if he'd be a fit in Chicago.

In the minors:

• In Arizona, Tyler Cravy and Kevin Shackleford combined to pitch three scoreless innings in Surprise's 8-6 AFL win over Salt River. Here's the box score.
• Mitch Haniger also appeared in that game, going 0-for-5. Before yesterday's game noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs ranked Haniger among the AFL leaders in his SCOUT stat.
• Meanwhile in the Dominican Republic, Juan Francisco and Sean Halton each had a hit (Francisco's was a double), drove in a run and scored in Licey's 7-4 win over Estrellas. (Box Score)

Around baseball:

Red Sox: Acquired outfielder Alex Castellanos from the Dodgers for a minor leaguer and designated pitcher Pedro Beato for assignment.

Earlier this week we learned that Tim Lincecum had re-signed with the Giants for two years and $35 million despite his 4.76 ERA over the last two seasons. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has a look at ERA's decline as a tool for evaluating pitchers, noting the fact that Kyle Lohse was passed over several times last winter in favor of pitchers with better peripherals but higher ERAs.

Today in former Brewers:

• Tom Haudricourt was in Boston for Game 1 of the World Series last night and filed this story on Red Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has a look at some old baseball cards featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates, including one-time future Brewer Dave Parker and manager Phil Garner.

You may have heard that the World Series started last night in Boston, where it was 49 degrees. Cybermetrics took a look at weather in various cities across the majors last night and found several places where things would have been significantly worse.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the truth has come out.

Drink up.